"Retiring" the Nikon D7200

A photographer is retiring their Nikon D7200 DSLR after ten years due to negative social reactions, including confrontations and hostile stares, when using the camera in public. The decision reflects a broader trend where DSLRs are perceived as threatening, even in places where phone photography is accepted.

I've already written about this over on Tumblr but I wanted to talk about it here too, and maybe type it out when I'm not sickly and half asleep. This summer marks an important milestone for one of the longest-running pieces of equipment I have in my collection: I will have had my trusty Nikon D7200 for ten whole years . Still on its original battery, too And still going strong short of a dead pixel developing on the sensor. Which is honestly fine in this day and age of AI making things look too perfect. After thinking on it, I think this is also the year I retire it. Not completely, mind, I used air quotes in the title for a reason. But as far as bringing the camera with me to events or places where there might even be the chance of running into other people? It's staying home and in its place I'll either bring my Mavica or RX100M2, or just use my phone. Is it because a DSLR is unwieldy? Nah. Do I hate being stuck with a 35mm prime? Also nah. It's nothing to do with the camera itself. It is, rather, everything to do with how people perceive you with a DSLR. I've noticed--even once I first got my hands on this camera--that people just see you differently when you've got a DSLR, and not in a good way. Sometimes you'll be confronted. Sometimes you'll sit down to edit and notice people staring daggers directly at you. Example: I went to a mall parking lot to take pictures of my new car not even a year after I bought my camera. After about 10 minutes mall security was on us, telling us that photography was not allowed on their premises and we were told to delete our pictures and leave. However, if you walk up to the entrance of said mall, there are window decals proudly proclaiming that hey, you can take pictures and share them to the mall's Instagram and "connect with the mall " I really should have known this was the beginning of a hard lesson, that carrying around a semi-pro DSLR is going to have people treating you like you're pointing a loaded gun at them. And that even in places that allow phone photography, you'll get noticed, accosted, and lectured if you even think about whipping a DSLR out. Not long after that, a friend and I went to Portland, OR, and I saw a really cool neon sign I wanted a good shot of. I tried to take the photo, but got screamed at by people across the street for taking pictures with my good camera. That was really the last of the direct confrontations. But I couldn't help but keep noticing every time I sat down to edit that someone in the crowd was staring directly at me and staring at me as if I was doing something heinously wrong by bringing out my big camera to take a picture. The most recent example being the Pride celebration I was at recently. Plenty of people taking pictures with their phones and having a good time, but me opting to use my DSLR? You could just feel the weight of the stares on you. It was in that moment and after sleeping on it for a bit, of course that I decided I'm just kinda done taking the Nikon out. Honestly, if there was any impetus to upgrade to a smaller mirrorless just to appear less threatening, this would be it. I still like taking pictures of urban stuff when I'm out and about, but again, I'm just tired of feeling like I'm brandishing a loaded gun if I even so much as think about bringing the D7200 out. Plus, I need to use that RX100 more, anyway. It's a fantastic cam for what it is.